So I've been taking lessons for about a month and a half..

[jamo]

Most everyone - and there are some rare cases - should be hitting the ball BETTER at the end of a lesson than the way they came into the lesson.

Unless you haven't ingrained the swing fixes yet.

[iacas]

Unless you haven't ingrained the swing fixes yet.

No, that's not how that tends to work.

Think of it this way. Say you're a 2/10 on doing something. For example, your hand path goes in a little bit, but going in as well as you can do is a 10/10. You're given some feelings that help you to get the hand path in, and at the end of the lesson you're a 3/10 or a 4/10. You're going to be hitting the ball better because your swing is improved. Very, very rarely should you leave the lesson as a 1/10 - to regress - and if you do then you should consider a new instructor. But we have another thread for that, though: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...Before-Better/ .

[jamo]

No, that's not how that tends to work.

OK, I see what you mean. I'm going to try to stay away from this topic, I've been screwed over by too many instructor to have an unbiased opinion.

[Golf Guru]

I had never had lessons starting out, well later on i wish i did though, ill explain that later. I started out when i was quite young with all my mates and we would just go to the local course and with not a care in the world and basically taught ourselves. Now i know you don't really notice it much when you are a kid slicing,hooking, fresh air shot, horrible technique etc.. But we just kept going at it and never gave up until we were gradually getting better all the time.
Although it wasnt untill i was in my late teens i decided to go and get my swing sorted because i had developed a nasty swinging technigue from teaching myself, although it worked i wasn't getting the distance that i should be.
So i went and got some lessons off may i say a great club pro, so i finished my lessons and it was a totally different technique and i really struggled after my lessons for months and months trying to get this new swing in place. But look all im trying to point out in a round about is, it is all about practice it really is and i know it may hard now trying to remember everything from the lessons you must stick at it. If you learn correctly first time round it will be much better for your golf game.
If you are dedicated and love and have fun playing this wonderful game you will have no problem my friend just stick at it.

[jaj23]

Lots of advise here...but it is falling on deaf ears...the original poster has yet to come back to this thread.

[GDIB_net]

I've heard it said that 1 million people take up golf every year and 1 million also quit. Forget what you've been taught.Check out AJ Bonar. Good luck dude. GDIB

[nuck81]

Had a relapse today. Hit HORRIBLY. I was topping and shooting hosel rockets out the wazoo which I haven;t done in weeks. I'm going to chalk it up to hitting in the afternoon facing the sun as opposed to in the morning when I usually hit so I feel better about myself.

[Tomboys]

I'd have been tempted to run the other way.

Totally agree.

I took a few lessons back in 2003 and I was shooting in the low to mid 80's, then I abruptly took some time off and played very little over the next few years. When I did play, I shot in the 90's. At the beginning of this year, I decided to get back into golf more and I've been shooting in the 100's. Finally, last week I had enough of this BS and took a lesson. I played my first round after the lesson a few days later (I didn't even practice prior to the round) and I shot a 95. So, while I still suck, I can feel the difference and I know that I'm heading in the right direction. In fact, my bud that I play with all the time even commented that he could see the old "me" coming back (I still had to buy dinner because he shot an 89). When I went to my (newest) instructor, he said that it was evident that I was taught positions and that overall, my technique was much better than average. However, my rhythm was a disaster; much worse than average. So, he gave me drills to regain my rhythm. We spent 30 minutes talking and hitting a few balls (it was my first lesson with him, so he was doing his "discovery" of me). From there, he took me out to the course and had me play 3 holes. This really helped me in-grain the drills that he gave me on the range. I took my second lesson yesterday and I've improved some more. During my first lesson, I mis-hit 25 of the 30 balls he had me hit at the range--it was bad, really bad. This last lesson, just a mere week and one round after my first lesson, I mis-hit maybe 5 balls of the 30 he had me hit. And, again, we went to the course immediately after my time on the range and he watched me play 3 holes--giving me tips/lessons along the way. So, before you abandon your coach, I would sit down and talk to him. Tell him what happened and how you feel. In fact, suggest that you would like to have a lesson while playing a few holes on the course. Don't feel bad about your experience, just look at Charles and Ray on the Haney Project. They get intense one on one lessons at the range and they show great promise. Then, they go to the course and, overall, they play like crap--albeit there does seem to be some hope for Ray. But, the jury is still out on him. If your coach doesn't want to take you to the course, then, at that point, I would start talking to other coaches. At the end of the day, golf is played on a course, not on a range.

[Juice1499]

This is what I tell people when I help them. Work on your swing on the range and try to groove it. When you step on the first tee, your swing thought should be ....stare at that ball and hit it in the center of the face...... I see so many confusing themselves on the course with 26 swing thoughts that it is a wonder that can remember to walk.